Please, Don't Go
by Hermione-G-Weasley
Summary: This is just a cute little fic I wrote about how Ginny feels on the night before Ron starts Hogwarts.


Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, sadly…  
  
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Tomorrow was the day. Tomorrow was the day she'd be officially alone. Tomorrow was the day her best big brother was leaving her.  
  
Off to Hogwarts like all the rest.  
  
Ginny Weasley hated the idea of Hogwarts. It had already taken five of her brothers, and now it was taking her best one. Why did Ron have to turn eleven? Why did he have to be old enough to go to that stupid school with all its stupid secret passages and stupid feasts and stupid classes and stupid professors? Ginny knew all about Hogwarts. Fred and George had told her and Ron hundreds of stories. Ron had been so awed and excited; Ginny, however, had not been impressed.  
  
What was so great about a place that could teach you how to make things levitate and how to mix up potions and the such? Her mum and dad could teach them all of that, or maybe even Percy. He was terribly smart, but Ginny didn't care too much Percy because he was always too busy for her. She liked Charlie a lot, but he was never there much. No, he was off in Romania training dragons- having much more fun than she was, that was for sure. Bill was good, too, but he wasn't there much either. Egypt seemed to be a much more interesting place than England, and she really didn't blame him for going to work there. Fred and George were… well, Fred and George. They weren't too busy for her like Percy was, but they teased her all the time and played a lot of mean pranks on her. But still, any of them could teach her and Ron the things they needed to know.  
  
Ron didn't need to run off to some ruddy school to learn. He could stay at the Burrow with her, and they could learn all those things together.  
  
Ron, however, seemed to think otherwise. For months now, all he'd spoken of was "Hogwarts this and Hogwarts that." Ginny wanted to cast a spell and make Hogwarts explode! Ron shouldn't be getting all excited about leaving home; he should be frightened, and he should beg their mum and dad to let him stay at home just a bit longer. Long enough, at least, until Ginny was old enough to go to school. And then they could go together.  
  
But Ron didn't want to wait that extra year. He had been ready to go for weeks now, having packed and repacked his trunk at least fifty times in the past seven days. Ginny had watched him pack that trunk over and over again. Sitting perched on his orange covered bed, she'd watched as he'd put all of his things into that stupid trunk and gone on about how excited he was. She'd watched his clothes go in, and those silly Chudley Cannons posters, and his old second-hand wand that was nearly sporting its unicorn hair on its outside tips, and all of his hand-me-down school books, along with his brand new quills and parchment and ink. She'd watched him pack it all.  
  
And she'd wanted to cry.  
  
She'd wanted to cry because he was practically emptying his room and packing up all his things to take to a new room. A new room where he'd be living with all these other boys that were his age, all these boys who would become his friends and make him forget her. And all those boys would be nice to him, and they'd all adore Ron because he was so funny and witty. And Ron would eat it all up and forget all about his little sister who was stuck at home. Ginny hated those boys; she didn't even know them, and she hated them already. One of them would be his new best friend; she hated him the most of all. Ginny was supposed to be Ron's best friend- she had been for her entire life. And maybe he'd even have some friends who were girls. Ginny hated them, too, because she was supposed to be the only special girl in Ron's life; well, except for their mum, of course, but she didn't count, and neither did their twenty-three year old cousin Marcy who had always favored Ron over the rest of his brothers and given him special treats whenever she'd see him. Marcy and Mum didn't count, but she did. She was supposed to be the only girl Ron cared about.  
  
The only remotely interesting thing about Ron's prospective school year, in Ginny's opinion, was the fact that Harry Potter was going to be in his year. Ron, too, seemed impressed by this. He'd been bragging for months about how he and Harry Potter were going to be best friends and how he'd have him over to the house during the summer and everyone could meet him. Ginny had to admit that meeting Harry Potter did sound a bit appealing. Okay, more than a bit. She'd wanted to meet Harry Potter since she was three years old! That was the first time she'd heard the story about how he had conquered You-Know-Who when he was only a baby. She'd been fascinated by him ever since. But somehow, Ginny doubted that Ron would manage to become Harry Potter's best friend. If Ron got into Gryffindor like all her other brothers, then they might get to be roommates (Ginny was positive that Harry would be in Gryffindor because she reckoned that he must be terribly brave), but she didn't think Harry Potter would pick Ron as a best friend. Harry Potter was the bravest, most wonderful wizard in the world (in Ginny's opinion anyway), and Ron was just a Weasley. Surely, Harry Potter would want a best friend who came from a wealthier family and didn't have to wear hand-me-down robes. Ginny felt horrible for Ron because she could imagine how embarrassing it would be to stand next to Harry Potter while wearing robes that were three inches too short in the ankles. But maybe Harry Potter was so kind that he wouldn't care about money… Maybe.  
  
But anyway, it didn't matter. Ginny would even pass up the opportunity to meet Harry Potter if it meant that Ron would stay at home just a year longer. Just one more year, and then they could go to Hogwarts together.  
  
Ginny sighed into her yellow cased pillow; she could feel the tears starting to sneak into her eyes as she went over all of this in her head. In just a few short hours, Ron would be gone, and she'd be all alone. Fred and George had spent the whole day whining about how they couldn't believe the holiday was over already. Percy had spent the day telling anyone who would listen all of the important tasks he would be assigned the next day as a prefect. And Ron had been running around like his pants were on fire. He'd been up at the crack of dawn, and he hadn't slowed down all day. Their mum had made him his favorite dinner- Yorkshire pudding, and she'd even baked a very special raspberry tart in honor of the new first year Hogwarts student. Ginny hadn't eaten any of it. For some reason, she had figured that if she refused to ignore all the obvious signs that Ron was leaving, it would keep him from going.  
  
But it hadn't worked. Their mum had sent them all to bed at precisely nine o'clock that evening because she'd insisted that all the boys needed extra sleep in order to prepare for the next day and because Ginny was up too late anyway as it was. Ginny had been offended. She wasn't a baby, and she hated the way everyone treated her like one. Ron was the only one who didn't treat her like that, and she knew it was because he was only eleven months older than her. For one month each year, she and her favorite brother were the same age, and it was always her favorite month- February. Then on the first of March, Ron would always turn a year older, and everyone would seem to forget they were so close in age and go back to treating her like a baby. She hated it.  
  
Ginny glanced at the watch on her bedside table. It was a Muggle watch that her father had given her for her tenth birthday earlier that year, and she'd put weeks into learning how to read it. She saw that it was eleven- thirty. She'd been lying in bed for over two hours, and she was no closer to sleep than she had been when her mum had kissed her forehead and told her goodnight. Ginny wondered if she was the only one awake in the entire house; she'd heard her parents go to their room about an hour ago, and she knew that all her brothers had gone at the same time she had. Very quietly, so as not to be heard by anyone, she slipped out of her bed and up the stairs by her room to the top floor of the house.  
  
"Ronald's Room," the door read. Ginny thought bitterly about the fact that "Ronald's New Room" would be a dormitory in, most likely, Gryffindor Tower at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For a moment, she contemplated going back to her own bed because she was worried about being caught. She somehow didn't think that her mum would take too kindly to finding her out of bed at that hour. But when she looked down at the crack between the bottom of the door and the floor, she saw a very dim light, and she decided to knock. As soon as she'd put her hands back to her sides after rapping gently at the door, she saw the light go out and was met with the sound of very loud, very fake snoring.  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes and opened the door. Sticking her head through the crack, she whispered across to her brother's figure. "It's just me."  
  
Ron immediately sat up and looked toward the door. "Ginny! What are you doing here?" he hissed.  
  
Ginny slipped into the room, shutting the door quietly behind her, and walked over to the hideous orange bed on which her brother was sitting. "I just wanted to see if you were awake."  
  
Ron pulled his wand out from under his pillow and said, "Lumos," once again dimly lighting the room. Ginny saw that he had also shoved his copy of Flying With the Cannons under the pillow in an attempt to hide it from whoever was knocking at his door. "You shouldn't be awake," he told her. "It's really late."  
  
Ginny frowned as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "You shouldn't be awake, either. Mum said you would need lots of sleep for tomorrow."  
  
Ron shrugged as though he didn't care. "I'll be fine. I'm not tired."  
  
"Me either," Ginny admitted, still very quietly. "Why aren't you tired?"  
  
Once again, Ron shrugged. "Too excited."  
  
Slowly, Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I figured. Do you think you'll meet Harry Potter tomorrow?"  
  
A small smile covered Ron's freckled face. "I reckon probably I will. We'll probably ride on the train together and get to know each other." He said all of this as though he had planned it all out in his head.  
  
"Yeah, probably," Ginny said softly, though she doubted he would ride in the same compartment as Harry Potter. She didn't say anything because he looked so sure of himself, and she didn't want to upset him.  
  
"It'll be great, you know?" Ron said suddenly, his eyes lighting with excitement. "Being Harry Potter's best friend, I mean. I bet we'll do loads of cool stuff together! We might even fight some evil monsters and save some people and stuff!"  
  
Ginny shuddered. "I don't want you to fight evil monsters," she said, frightened.  
  
Ron just shrugged and said in what Ginny recognized to be a very brave sort of voice, "Well, that's the sort of things I'll have to do if he's my best friend. I'll have to be a hero, too." He nodded his head as though all of this was unquestionable fact.  
  
"And you'll bring him over next summer?" Ginny asked hopefully. As much as she doubted whether Ron would manage to make Harry Potter as a best friend, she couldn't help but get caught up in the fantasy.  
  
"Sure," he told her, grinning. "He'll sleep up in my room, and we'll talk about the cool things we'll have done this year."  
  
"And I can meet him?"  
  
"Course, you can." Ron winked at her. "I promise not to tell him you've fancied him since before you could even talk," he teased.  
  
Ginny felt her cheeks go a bit pink, but she asked him another question. "Do you think he's terribly handsome?" She'd only seen pictures of the Boy Who Lived from when he was a baby with his parents who were now dead. She knew he lived with some Muggles now, so there were no recent pictures of him to be seen.  
  
Ron wrinkled his nose. "How should I know?"  
  
Ginny just shrugged sheepishly, "Well, I just figured if you were gonna be his best friend, you might know what he looks like…"  
  
"The only thing I know is that he has a scar."  
  
"A lightening bolt," Ginny finished dreamily. "Right on his forehead…"  
  
"Yep," Ron nodded.  
  
Ginny quickly thought of something else she wanted to ask him. "Will you get a girlfriend at school?"  
  
Ron looked at her as though she'd one mad and screwed up his face. "Ew, no. I hate girls."  
  
Ginny felt hurt by this statement. "Even me?"  
  
"Well, no," Ron admitted. "But you don't count because you're not a girl- you're my sister."  
  
Ginny accepted this excuse and continued. "So, you won't even talk to any girls at school?" She hoped silently that he would say no because she hated to think that another girl could take him away from her.  
  
"Well, I reckon I'll have to talk to them sometimes, now won't I?" he rolled his eyes. "But I won't do it because I want to. I'll only talk to them when the teachers make me."  
  
Ginny smiled, pleased with his answer. "Good." Then, slowly, her smile faded and she looked up into her brother's bright blue eyes. "Ron, are you sure you want to go to school tomorrow? Mightn't you want to wait just one more year?"  
  
"Of course, I'm sure I want to go," Ron answered obviously. "I can't wait to go!"  
  
"But…" Ginny's voice trailed temporarily, "But what's going to be so great about school?"  
  
"Well, if I don't go, I won't ever be Harry Potter's best friend, now will I?" He said all of this as though it was an easy question. "And anyway, if I don't go to school, I'll be stupid for the rest of my life."  
  
Ginny was shocked by the final statement. "Ron, you are not stupid," she said honestly.  
  
"Well, I don't know anything, and going to school is the only way I'll ever learn." He looked at her, "If I don't go, I'll never be a proper wizard."  
  
Ginny understood that all of this was completely true and logical, but it didn't help to make watching Ron go any easier. "Ron, I don't want you to go," she said barely audibly.  
  
Ron furrowed his brow as he peered at his younger sister. "Why not?"  
  
"Because I'll miss you!" she said in what was the loudest voice she'd used all night. "I'm going to be here all alone, and you're going to go and meet all these new people and be friends with Harry Potter and talk to girls when teachers force you to and fight evil monsters and save people and learn how to do all the spells that Mum and Dad and Bill and Charlie and Percy and Fred and George do and… and…" she trailed, searching for the right words, "and forget about me."  
  
Ron's face fell slightly after she'd made her extremely quick-spoken speech. "Ginny, is that what all this is about? You think I'm going to forget about you?"  
  
She nodded slowly, looking down at her fingernails which her mum had painted pale pink the day before.  
  
Ron sighed and forced her to look up. "Ginny, I'm not going to forget about you. You're my sister." He grinned at her. "And my best friend."  
  
She returned the grin, suddenly feeling much better inside. "Really?"  
  
He nodded, "Yep. And you always will be."  
  
"What about Harry Potter?" Ginny eyed him curiously.  
  
Ron just shrugged. "Harry Potter will have to be second."  
  
She grinned wider than ever. "Really?"  
  
Ron used his right hand to hit himself in the forehead, then he pulled on his left ear, held his hand over his mouth, spit in it, and held it out to Ginny. "I swear."  
  
Ginny just smiled down at it happily before copying his actions- it was their special, secret handshake. After squashing their spit-filled hands into each other's, they both winked at the exact same time and nodded their heads once. Afterwards, they both erupted into giggles.  
  
Ginny knew then that she would be able to make it through the coming year.  
  
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So? It was corny, I know, but I'd still adore some reviews! 


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